Sibling Rivalry

My two kids are your typical brother and sister. Being nine and five, they have their own ideas, opinions, and personalities. Of course there are going to be conflicts between them, but they also have their moments when you sit back and think that there couldn't be anything better than being a Mom!

Take this week for instance: summertime and the living sure hasn't been easy! They scream that familiar phrase that millions of kids shout out everyday," MOM.....I'm bored!" Then you have to be the SuperMom and have a brilliant plan of action.

Anyway, being the brilliant SuperMom that I am ( no, not really), I became quickly tired of hearing the television and the fighting and said," Okay guys, you have to come up with a plan of action!" My oldest looked at me like I was insane and then looked at her brother. Quickly she said," How about a board game?" Not two minutes later, blinking back the tears of being such a great Mom and thinking that letting them decide WAS a great plan, they were at it again. Not out of boredom, but arguing about who was going first and why the rules were so dumb!!!!

I quickly stepped in and started explaining that life was full of rules that we have to abide by so that it would be fair and that there would be no arguments. Of course my little one had a face of sheer confusion and said," That's stupid!" (That's his word of the week.) I stated that he would be starting kindergarten this fall and even school had lots of rules so that school would be safe and he could learn.

Looking at his blank face, we started the game. Several times we almost had to quit because being five, my son had a hard time with rules and "being a loser."

I simply had a moment of frustration when my oldest started crying because her brother just didn't get it. It was mid-game and she couldn't understand why her brother wanted to quit and was being so ugly. Super-Mom had to come up with something quick, so I reassured her that he didn't understand the concept of the game and it would take time.

After much chaos and yes, whining, we FINALLY finished the game, with the son winning of course! The kids leaned back in their chairs and said, " That was fun!!!! Can we play another game?"

I was not ready for another game! "How about tomorrow we play Sorry?"
Amid screams of pure joy, they went to the couch and snuggled together and talked about what they should do next and how fun the game had been.

I realize that kids will be kids, and sibling rivalry will always exist, but in between the bad moments there are good moments that you have to focus and rely on.